PlatinumClan
by flower1815
Summary: The original clans have prospered over the south. Now it's time for a new clan to rise over to the north, so StarClan's influence may bloom. Which is the reason why several cats from the tribes of the mountains have been chosen and volunteered to leave, find a new home and create a new clan. This is PlatinumClan. Prologue to The Defenders series.
1. Chapter 1

Pebbles turned and rolled beneath their paws. Dark, silhouetted figures remained silent, with weary, gleaming eyes shining in the shadows. For days, these figures have been traveling through harsh weather, and facing off against many dangers. They lost a few unfortunate ones on the way, but the ones that made it will complete the task set out to them by their ancestors.

Using their senses, they felt a turn ahead of them and gracefully moved to avoid smashing their heads against the tunnel walls. Once they turned they were relieved to find a faint light coming from, what appears to be, the end of the tunnel. A large opening could be seen, moonlight was shining outside. They were close now.

At last, they made it and stepped outside into the cool night air and leaving the tunnel behind them. They stand proud at the sight in front of them. Although it was still night time, they could already see the looming forest before them. And besides, dawn is not far off as the first orange rays of sunlight gleamed over the horizon. That small gleam was enough to light up the view ahead of these figures, revealing a luscious green forest. Beside it, a few ways away, there is a Twolegplace and a few other twoleg dominated areas scattered around. But the interest remained solely focus on the forest.

"We're here." One of them murmured in awe. "At last, our new home stands right in front of us."

* * *

For the next few days, the small group, consisting of at least 9 cats, searched within the blooming forest for a suitable place to make their camp. Eventually they settled down in a secluded clearing, protected by a steep ravine and gorse, bramble bushes surrounding the camp.

Working hard, all members made their part in making the place safer.

A pale tabby tom was organizing the walls of the den beneath the Tallrock, where their leader will stay, when his ears pricked at the sound of approaching pawsteps nearing the camp entrance. He called out to the others for silence. Everyone stopped what they're doing to stare at the newly made camp entrance with anticipation.

From the gorse entrance strode in camp a black and silver tom with blue eyes. Accompanying him is a calico she-cat with green eyes. At their arrival, the others gathered around them anxiously.

"Well?"

"Did you do it?"

"How did it go?"

"Did you find it?"

"What'd they say?"

Instead of answering their questions right away, the two cats just passed by them and hopped on top of the Tallrock. The tom stayed high up top, while the she-cat sat neatly one level below him.

"Silence please! I know many of you have a lot of questions, and I'll answer all of them the best I can." The tom announced above the clamor, making his voice high enough to be heard. "To start of; yes. We did manage to find the place where the moon shines brightest, in the form of the Moonflower."

The crowd of cats below began to murmur and chat amongst themselves eagerly. "What happened once you found it anyway?" A pale tabby tom asked curiously, voicing what a lot of others were thinking about.

"Upon touching the Moonflower, I went into a deep slumber where my ancestors came to me in a dream." He explained. "Unfortunately, they made me swear not to share the whole experience with the rest of you. But I'll give you the abridged version of the facts."

Some cats complained about their chosen leader keeping secrets and important information from the rest of them. But one look from the she-cat standing below the Tallrock was enough to silence them and listen to the next announcement eagerly.

"They have blessed me with nine lives, so I may rule our Clan for many moons to come." He continued. The cats below murmured frantically in shock and surprise. "Along with these lives, they have requested of us new names. From now on, I am no longer known as Ash of the Burned Down Forest, or simply Ash for that matter. They have instead given me a new name. I am now known as Ashstar, leader of PlatinumClan."

"PlatinumClan? Is that to be the new of our Clan?" A red brown tom hissed in outrage from below. "What gave you the right to name this Clan? And without the consent or agreement from your warriors for that matter."

"I am Clan leader now Sparrow. Or did you just forget what I said mere moments ago." Ashstar meowed with a hint of humor. "I did not name this Clan, our ancestors did. I am simply following their orders."

"Ashstar is not the only one who received a new name." The calico she-cat spoke next. "Our ancestors have also given me a new name. I am no longer Meadow that Blossoms in the Spring, but instead I shall be known simply as Meadowblossom."

"And I have the honor to name Meadowblossom, the first deputy of PlatinumClan. Which means, that if I were to lose all my nine lives, she is to take my place as the new leader." Ashstar added with pride. The cats cheered and approved of the choice. But not all of them seemed to be happy with this turn of events. "Our ancestors requested that, in order to restore the glory of the Clans back, we would have to rename every single one of you."

"What?! You mean to tell me we have to leave everything behind?" Called the outraged voice of Sparrow once again. "Leave behind our culture? Forget who we once were for the sake of a new name?"

Ashstar narrowed his eyes down at Sparrow, but before he could answer in any way, Meadowblossom jumped ahead in his defense.

"If you have forgotten, Sparrow that Squawks at the Sight of Threat, the only reason why we left the tribes in the first place was because our ancestors ordered us." She growled. "They requested for several members to volunteer themselves to go on a journey in order to rebuild the Clans back to their original glory. You chose to come. No one ordered you to leave your culture and ways behind, you could've just stayed back at the mountains. But now you're here, so don't complain with the changes."

Sparrow glared at Meadowblossom and bared his teeth in irritation, as several cats laughed in amusement at the public scolding. Beside Sparrow, his companion, a gray tabby with green eyes shook his head in disappointment.

"Meadowblossom." Ashstar called. She turned her attention towards him. He gave her a hard stare, as if to say not to speak for him again, but his eyes held a glimmer of amusement, so she knew he was not mad at her for it. Either way, she sat down again and remained silent. "I'll get to the name ceremony of each member eventually. But for now, there's still a lot of work to be done."

"But what about a medicine cat?" A dark tabby she-cat asked from the crowd. "Weren't they a big part of Clan culture? Won't we need one?"

"Fish in Gentle River is right." A gray tabby voiced his agreement. "We still don't have a medicine cat. And with Rain of Gray Clouds so close to kitting it's important we find one quick."

"I have already thought of that, but thank you for bringing up to my attention." Ashstar went on. "I asked StarClan about the subject, but all they said was that a medicine cat would reveal itself by the end of the half-moon. There's nothing for us to do aside from wait and see. And with that, this meeting is done."

He jumped down the Tallrock, Meadowblossom following right behind him. The crowd scattered to get back to work. Sparrow hesitated a moment more to glare at Meadowblossom, but the gray tabby nudged him away with his tail.

"Birch, Bat, and Ant!" Ashstar called out to three different cats, all who looked up at their names being called. "Come here for a second." He beckoned them closer with a flick of his tail. At once, the three cats bounded towards their new appointed leader and deputy, curious as to what this is all about.

"What is it Ashstar?" Ant, a white and gray tom with amber eyes, and the second oldest cat in this small group, asked. "And why do I have a feeling you didn't speak everything you wanted to say?"

Ashstar sighed. "You know me too well Ant that Lifts the Heavy Boulder. The truth of the matter is that our ancestors, now calling themselves StarClan, wants us to travel around and find others."

"Others?" Birch, the pale tabby tom with green eyes, echoed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Can you be a little more specific?" Bat, a dark mottled brown tabby tom with amber eyes requested.

"You know that the only reason why we're here in the first place, as Meadowblossom previously explained, is to rebuild a Clan, so that their culture can return back to its former glory." Ashstar went on. "15 cats left the tribes of the mountains, and only 9 of us made it here. If we are to have any hope of fulfilling our ancestors wishes to rebuild the ways of the Clans, we must have more Clan members."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Bat questioned.

"Like I said. We need to explore the place a bit more; go beyond the territory's limits and recruit more members." Ashstar explained.

"But what exactly are we looking for?" This time, it was Ant who asked. "If we're going on another crazy quest to recruit more members for our clan, what kind of qualities do they need? At least, I suspect StarClan wouldn't want any cat to join us without reason."

"Well, they didn't give many demands on the matter." Ashstar admitted.

"They gave us only a warning." Meadowblossom added.

"More like a hint, or a clue. But sure." Ashstar mewed. "All they said, and I quote here: There will be special ones; gifted. Either blessed by the forces of nature, changed by twolegs, or simply sufferers. These will be the ones who will lay down their lives to protect everything they believe and fight for."

"That sounds important." Bat agrees. "But may I ask as to why we're the only ones hearing all this?"

Ashstar did not answer right away. His gaze drifted towards Sparrow, who was busy collecting branches to reinforce the camp walls. "I have my reasons." That's all he replied with.

"So, should we leave at once in search of more members?" Birch questioned.

"Not search. Yet." Ashstar corrected. "Just take a look around the perimeter. Go beyond our borders. I shall be expecting your return in three days. Once you do, report to me immediately."

"And what about the Twolegplace nearby?" Birch suggested. "Should we look over there too?"

"Just look it over at a fair distance." Ashstar advised. "Don't enter it by any means. We just arrived after all, and it wouldn't be wise for us to be attracting attention from the twolegs so early."

"Yes, Ashstar." The three cats dipped their heads in respect before bounding out of camp.

"What do you think they'll find out there?" Meadowblossom asked once the three cats were out of range.

"Right away. Nothing." Ashstar admitted. "But over time, who knows? I intend to keep this order going for many moons to come, even after I am long gone."

"So what you're saying is that we should send our warriors to investigate the area, looking for special additions to the Clan, at least… Once every moon?" Meadowblossom meowed.

"Precisely." Ashstar nodded in confirmation. "Besides, any cat can qualify to the description given by StarClan. If they wanted specific individual they would have recited into a prophecy. But that was not it."

"I guess in the end it doesn't really matter. I highly doubt we could ever find a cat that would even come close to being as great as he was." Ashstar glanced at Meadowblossom as she said this. Despite her humorous tone, Meadowblossom's eyes casted downwards and her face showed sorrow.

Ashstar sighed. "It's been 18 moons, Meadowblossom. You have to move on." He meowed sympathetically. "We did everything we could to find him, but the likelihood to have even survived that catastrophe was grim. No ordinary cat could've lived through that."

"You know better than I that Eagle was no ordinary cat." She stared at him directly in his eyes, green eyes blazing with devotion of a memory that wouldn't seem to be fading anytime soon. Still, Ashstar stared back at her with kind eyes.

"I know. That's why I kept looking." He murmured calmly. "But still. As sad as his loss is, we can't give up faith in these new cats we're about to find. Who knows? We might even surprise ourselves."

Ashstar walked by her, leaving Meadowblossom to her thoughts. "What makes you so sure, that the cats we may find and recruit in this land are capable of standing up to any kind of threat?" She questioned, watching him retreat to his den. He halted at her question and glanced back at her with amusement glimming in his blue eyes.

"Well, we can't be completely sure until we've seen them for ourselves." He meowed. "Besides, i thought that out of all of us you would be the most open minded about this. I mean, Eagle was a good example of not judging a fresh-kill by it's appearance. Wouldn't you agree?" Meadowblossom did not reply back. Instead she adverted her gaze elsewhere, unable to answer as a lump was stuck in her throat.

Ashstar gave her one last sympathetic look. He shrugged, thinking she has a lot of stuff to think over and sort out and slipped inside his nest to rest, as the long journey took a toll on him, and the sky began to darken. As the other members of their little group continued working on the camp, Meadowblossom sadly gazed upwards towards the twilight sky. Stars already beginning to gleam upon the various shades of blue displayed in the world above. Some shining brighter than others. Silently she hoped her dear Eagle was one of the stars shining that night.

Meadowblossom knew she had to move on from the grief of losing him, and on the outside she did. But deep down inside, the wound refused to close and remained fresh. Still, after his passing she stayed strong. She sided with Ashstar on all his decisions, protected him on the face of danger, and fought alongside him. Despite everyone else's claims, she has more than proven herself a worthy fighter. So when Glow of the Rising Sun, their tribe's Stoneteller, received an omen from their ancestors for volunteers to travel far and restore the Clans back to their former glory, of course Ashstar was one of the first to call out. So obviously, wherever he go she was never far behind.

Meadowblossom isn't stupid. A cat as bright and ingenious as Ashstar, who spent so much time observing twolegs and learning of their ways and behaviour, to the point of even helping other cats with his knowledge, is an obvious target for any greedy or ambitious threats that might pursuit him. Especially because he is not a fighter. At all. He calls himself a thinker rather than a fighter, and in open battle it shows. He can handle himself on his own pretty well using his wits to his advantage. But when it comes to pure strength and skill, he is lacking. So Meadowblossom has taken upon herself to protect him no matter what. She is loyal to him.

But she won't be there forever. And that's why they need more warriors. Even if… they're not all going to be like Eagle. The cats of, not only the Clans, but anywhere really, let it be the kittypets, loners, tribe cats, and even rogues. They will need someone to come for their aid. Some cats are selfish and believe they should just help themselves and not each other because they're different. They are born into different places and culture. But it shouldn't be like that. To Meadowblossom and Ashstar, and most of PlatinumClan, the sole purpose of this quest, aside from restoring the Clans, is to lend help towards other cats. Anyone who's in need should, and will, be protected by the warriors. No matter where they come from.

With a sigh Meadowblossom gave a small, sad smile before retiring back to her den for the night. As she curled up over her mossy nest, her last thoughts were of the warriors they hoped to find here, and pleaded to her ancestors that they would be strong enough to face the heavy trials ahead of them. Cause she knows that the path of a warrior, was not an easy burden to take.

 **So guys, what do you think of this premise? These will be a series of stories, all on their own, each telling the story of the characters who will make their part in the big one, which basically connects and joins all of them into a single one. If you're confused, don't worry, i'll explain as the stories go on. Of course, i won't dump a load of exposition in a single story. It will all be given in little pieces, just to keep it interesting. Stay tuned for the next chapter, where I'll teaser the first story in the set.**


	2. epilogue

Far from where PlatinumClan now resides, there is another Clan. One formed and born in stone. Cats make their home here, near the big pond that stands as far as the eye can see. These cats are warriors. Born fighters and hunters, who proclaim loyalty to protect and defend the land that is rightfully theirs.

This is StoneClan.

It was nearly sunhigh, and patrols were coming and going. In and out of camp, jaws heavy and filled with plentiful prey. A brown and white tabby tom just came back from a successful hunting patrol, laying down his catch next to the others in the fresh-kill pile. His ears pricked at the sound of his name being called; a russet ginger tabby tom sat neatly near the nursery and was gazing at him patiently.

At once, the tabby warrior bounded over, eager to hear the news while he was away. The medicine cat tells him of his mate who just went into kitting and gave birth to two healthy toms, congratulating him in the process. Feeling overjoyed with the news, the proud father headed inside the den to see his blooming mate and new kits.

The mother, a gray tabby with green eyes, smiled as he arrived. The two of them nuzzled each other and purred with delight, before their attention was adverted towards the sound of mewling. Gazing downwards the two smiled proudly at their two kits, squirming at their mother's belly for more warm milk. One a black and white kit, the other, a brown tabby.

As the new parents named and cheered for the happy moment, the tabby's ears pricked. An unusual occurrence, as kit ears are still small and untrained. But yet it stands, but not by the sound of his parents voices. No. It pricked at the sounds coming from beyond the camp's walls. The rustling leaves high above the trees. The soft, swaying breeze blowing across the grass blades. Squirrels and birds chirping. And even more beyond that.

From far away, he could hear the flap of powerful wings, and a mighty caw of a hawk as it soared high above the mountains of the north. Not a moment too soon, he heard the sound of an unsuspecting rabbit as it was taken and carried off by that same hawk.

 **Stay tuned for the first story in the bunch: Vision of the Hawk.**


End file.
